How downtown Asheville, Bele Chere parted

Fest may die after July, or be reimagined

9:00 PM,
Mar. 16, 2013

Asheville City Council reached an informal agreement not to produce the annual Bele Chere festival next year. The event is scheduled to go on as usual this July. The event draws tens of thousands of people to downtown each year.

Written by

Jason Sandford

If the 34-year union of the Bele Chere festival and downtown was described as a marriage, the end of the relationship could be viewed as two parties simply growing apart.

In 1979, the city's central business district was an undesirable shadow of its former self. Bele Chere, on the other hand, was vivacious and full of flirt. The two moved together. The festival fulfilled its commitment to bring new life into the city, and downtown's success powered an ever bigger Bele Chere.

But as the years wore on, perceptions of the two reversed. Downtown gradually become the hip, attractive entity, while ...